PADM 7224 1
MODULE
Seminar in Urban Problems
PADM 7224
University of Memphis Department of Public &
Nonprofit Administration
Edwards & Imrie (2015) Chapters 3 & 4
2
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CHAPTER 3: WHOSE RIGHT TO THE CITY?
Edwards & Imrie (2015) The Short Guide to Urban Policy
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Whose Right to the City?
The big question – does urban policy seek to create a debated idea of the “good city” by regulating and policing behavior? And is it behavior of specific social classes?
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Whose Right to the City? Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder
“City” is often associated with disorder and dangerous
Major goal of urban planners is to eliminate or control disorder through the built environment – manage pollution, overcrowding, etc.
City as a place of individual strangers vs. a community of difference
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Whose Right to the City? Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder
Differentiating groups of people has been characteristic of urban policy – creation of the idea of an “underclass” Murray and Hernstein’s The Bell Curve (1994) Vox 2018 critique of the ideas of Murray and
The Bell Curve AEI 2014 interview with Murray on the 20th
anniversary of the book Policy debates ensue about who’s
responsibility for different behaviors of different groups
https://www.vox.com/2018/4/10/17182692/bell-curve-charles-murray-policy-wrong
https://www.aei.org/economics/bell-curve-20-years-later-qa-charles-murray/
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Whose Right to the City? Managing Places and People
Urban policy frequently focuses on managing problem behavior that threats civilized society – crime, drug use, etc. NYC zero-tolerance “broken windows”
approach to crime
Pulls resources away from policies that address causes of poverty and inequality, which lead to such threats
Perpetuates social exclusion
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Whose Right to the City? Managing Places and People
Urban policy frequently focuses on ensuring safe and secure public spaces
Common policy tools to accomplish: Urban planning and architecture using the
built environment Private-run business improvement districts Initiatives that focus on “nudging” citizen
behavior
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Whose Right to the City? Social Identities & the Rights to the City
Does urban policy reinforce traditional value systems that promote various social identifies and perceived inequalities? Policy on built city spaces often stimulate
traditional gender roles Policy on built city spaces often excludes (or
does not consider) large groups of people (e.g., children, LGBTQ+ community, disability community)
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Whose Right to the City? Web Links
Secured by Design (UK) https://www.securedbydesign.com/
Neighborhood Scout (US) https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/
UN HABITAT (Global) https://unhabitat.org/
https://www.securedbydesign.com/
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/
https://unhabitat.org/
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CHAPTER 4: PRIVATIZATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL URBAN POLICY
Edwards & Imrie (2015) The Short Guide to Urban Policy
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy
Economic development / regeneration is a perennial urban policy focus Includes major infrastructure projects Gained momentum in U.S. cities following
WWII Accelerated in 1980s and 1990s in response to
1970s Privatization is closely associated with
economic development given the large role of private (non-governmental) actors
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Emergence of Privitism in Urban Policy
Varying levels of privatization across different types of sectors, services, and cities – it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” approach
Always present in U.S., but further fueled by Reagonism in the 1980s (reflective of Thatcherism in the UK) Considered a valid policy response to help ailing
cities when hit economic bottom in 1970s – “trickle-down” economics
Lasting result of new urban governance arrangements in urban regeneration – larger role for private actors, reduce role for city government
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Urban Entrepreneurialism & the Changing Nature of Urban Governance
City governments encouraged to be “entrepreneurial” and partner with private sector to bring prosperity to the city Example – urban regeneration in 1950s New
York City (see Module 1 film) Example – urban development corporations in
UK in 1980s/90s
Concerns about lack of democratic accountability on private sector actors
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Property-led Regeneration & Economic Development
During 1980s inner-cities began to be viewed as places to spur private investment for economic development
New economic development was NOT attracting blue-collar sectors (“old” cities), but sectors related to attracting the “creative class” (“modern” cities)
Cities take a wide range of measures to attract businesses (see p. 112) – recent example being cities bidding to get the next Amazon headquarters Amazon has triggered a $5 billion bidding war Why Amazon’s Search for a Second Headquarters
Backfired
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-headquarters-cities-in-a-bidding-war-2017-9
https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-hq2-search-backfired/
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Urban Entrepreneurialism in the 2000s
Does urban entrepreneurialism lead to further fragmentation and segregation in the city? Since 2000, rent has climbed faster than
incomes – residents are being out-priced of their communities
Private spaces are growing – gated residential communities
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) – transferring city power to private (or quasi- private) hands
https://phys.org/news/2019-05-lack-rent-plagues-cities-states.html
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Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Web Links
Corporate Watch(UK) https://corporatewatch.org/
https://corporatewatch.org/
Edwards & Imrie (2015)�Chapters 3 & 4
Chapter 3: Whose right to the city?
Whose Right to the City?
Whose Right to the City?�Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder
Whose Right to the City?�Unruly Cities & Urban Disorder
Whose Right to the City?�Managing Places and People
Whose Right to the City?�Managing Places and People
Whose Right to the City?�Social Identities & the Rights to the City
Whose Right to the City?�Web Links
Chapter 4: Privatization and Entrepreneurial urban policy
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Emergence of Privitism in Urban Policy
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Urban Entrepreneurialism & the Changing Nature of Urban Governance
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Property-led Regeneration & Economic Development
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy�Urban Entrepreneurialism in the 2000s
Privatization & Entrepreneurial Urban Policy Web Links
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1 PADM 7224
MODULE
Seminar on Urban Issues
7224 PADM
Department of Public and Environmental Affairs, University of Memphis
Administration of Nonprofit Organizations
Chapters 3 and 4 of Edwards and Imrie (2015)
2
2 PADM 7224
CHAPITRE 3: WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO THE CITY?
The Short Guide to Urban Policy by Edwards and Imrie (2015)
3 PADM 7224
Who has a claim to the city?
The big question is whether urban management aims to construct a contested concept of the “good city” by regulating and police conduct. Is it the conduct of certain social classes?
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Who has a claim to the city? Cities in Disarray & Urban Disorder
“City” is often associated with disorder and dangerous
Major goal of urban planners is to eliminate or control disorder through the built environment – manage pollution, overcrowding, etc.
City as a place of
